Free Republic

WASHINGTON: Psychologists that the University of Oregon say that the capacity of short-term memory is a strong predictor of an individual's IQ level and scholastic achievement. A study conducted by them has shown that an average person can think only about four items at a time, but people with high IQ levels can remember more articles. Professor Edward Awh and Professor Edward Vogel of the university conducted laboratory experiments to test their hypothesis that the memory capacity might be influenced by the complexity of items being stored, something that might cause a four-item limit for most people. The study showed...

Convicted killer Johnny Paul Penry, whose case helped spark national debate over whether mentally impaired inmates could be executed, had his death sentence overturned for the third time Wednesday. A divided Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sent the case back to trial for a new punishment phase in the 1979 slaying of an East Texas woman. The court ruling said jurors during his most recent retrial may not have properly considered his claims of mental impairment. Over more than a decade, the uneducated laborer became the face of mentally impaired killers across the country, winning two reversals from the U.S....